How many hours do I need for a "cushion"?

Unfortunately this is a question that is impossible to answer. When you submit your hours for review there is always a possibility that some of your hours will be excluded. The biggest issue we see is applicants who fail to submit all of the necessary documents (e.g., W2s, supervisor responsibility statements, volunteer letters, etc.). We recommend that you: 1) Log and submit all of your hours even if you don't think you will need all of them; 2) Carefully review all of your hours and any alerts on your TYH account; 3) Ensure that your valid hour total is above the required number of hours after accounting for any hours you will lose (your alerts will tell you if you will lose any additional hours); and 4) Triple check to ensure you have all of the requirement documents.